The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), the biggest foreign trade organization in Taiwan, has fired four employees, or 23.5 percent of its staff, as part of a downsizing effort, AmCham's director said yesterday.
The job cuts, mainly of administrative staff, are designed to cut overheads as the organization's membership declines, executive director Richard Vuylsteke told the Taipei Times yesterday.
"Fifteen months ago we still had around 1,000 members, but now the number is below 900," said Vuylsteke, who is responsible for AmCham's day-to-day operations.
The declining membership and organization downsizing is also an indicator of a slow economy in Taiwan, Vuylsteke said.
Taiwan's unemployment rate reached 5.31 percent in October. with nearly 530,000 people out of work, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
"We are not different from other businesses in Taiwan," Vuylsteke said. "We have to be realistic and face bottom-line issues as well."
But an official at the European Council of Commerce and Trade (ECCT), who requested anonymity, suggested delayed cross-strait links with China is the main reason for falling AmCham membership numbers.
"This is a trend in Taiwan, where foreign companies or foreign investments are turning to China because of the delayed links," the ECCT official said. ECCT is the largest representative body for European commercial interests in Taiwan, representing 400 firms.
According to government statistics, approved foreign investment in Taiwan has posted a sharp decline of 37.19 percent to US$2.68 billion over the past 10 months.
"Comparatively, AmCham in Shanghai has see fast growth over the past few years, with membership now approaching 2,000 or so," the official said.
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